Description

If you were to catalog the riding apparel choices here at the office, overwhelmingly, you would tally Castelli's Body Paint 2.0 over any other pair of bib shorts. That's why we teamed up with Castelli to make two exclusive color options with the Body Paint 2.0 Limited Edition Bib Shorts. Now, we're combining our love for quality bib shorts, bright fluo, and Italian cycling and sharing it with you. Get 'em while you can.

Castelli's Body Paint 2.0 is a moving revolution that was fast enough for Castelli to patent the design. It feels as it sounds, like a barely-there skin layer that's been painted on. However, this isn't a byproduct of design, but the intent itself. In fact, every aspect of the design works to make the fit as precise as possible. This way, by eliminating fabric bunching and pulling, airflow passes over the shorts more freely. Integral in this concept is the fabric selection itself, in this case a lightweight Lycra that can only be described as soft.

Furthering this attribute is the bib shorts' nearly seamless construction. The legs feature a one piece design that flows continuously to the upper regions of the shorts. Essentially, this keeps the intended shape of the bib shorts intact, and be doing so, reduces your aerodynamic footprint in the saddle. But, what is the intended shape? Well, the answer is both simple and complex. In its most simplistic form, the answer is to go fast, but to deal with its complexity charts over the course of years. In fact, over the past year, Castelli has worked extensively with Team Garmin-Barracuda in order to absorb rider-feedback, tunnel test, and to achieve real world race experience. As a result, the cut, shape, and elasticity of the bib shorts have been scientifically and methodically dialed-in.

This brings us to the shorts' aerodynamic benefits. It all comes down to managing airflow, and coincidentally, the human body accounts for over 90% of aerodynamic drag on the bike. To mitigate this, the shorts have been made to be what Castelli calls 'slippery.' Essentially, by combining a virtually zero-seam design with a low-profile, compacted thread Lycra, airflow remains attached to the body as it comes off of the helmet and front of the bike. Through this, turbulent air is controlled, and your drag numbers decrease. But, for further measure, the Body Paint 2.0 has a new feature at the legs -- dimpled endings. Not only does this control turbulent boundary layer airflow (think of Zipp ALBC sidewalls and golf balls) , but it also doubles as a slightly compressive area of the shorts.

Interestingly, the leg grippers aren't actually grippers. A Body Paint exclusive, the inner layer of the Lycra is precisely 'stripped away,' leaving thin lines of exposed fiber. These 'reduced' Lycra fibers have a soft, yet firm grip on the skin, only without the potential irritation caused by a silicone band. Even more impressively, this portion of the shorts features the only area that's able to be sublimated. So, the whole bib short benefits from a lighter and softer fiber weight.

Rounding off the shorts are Castelli's most innovative chamois, the Progetto X2 Air. The Progetto's surface uses a skin-care layer comprised of a seamless bacteriostatic fabric that conforms to the body without folding. The material supports airflow, and aids in evaporation. The second layer is multi-density foam with variable thickness paced where you need it, not where you don't. The comfort level is also aided by Castelli's Viscous comfort inserts; a perforated padding added to the highly-sensitive ischial and perineum pressure regions.

The Castelli Body Paint 2.0 Limited Edition Bib Shorts are available in six sizes from Small to XXX-Large and in the colors Black/yellow fluo and Red/white/green.